Meijer Gardens has acquired a piece titled “Equal Intervals, Equal Elevations” by the American minimalist sculptor and video artist as the latest installation in the outdoor Sculpture Park.

The addition of the site-specific sculpture furthers the vision and desire of benefactor Fred Meijer to build a collection of sculpture of international significance.

“Worldwide, he’s regarded as one of the eminent figures in contemporary art,” said Joseph Becherer, vice president and chief curator at Meijer Gardens. “Meijer Gardens has long been committed to the opportunity to introduce a work by Richard Serra— one of the most acclaimed and influential sculptors of our time— to the collection.”

“Equal Intervals, Equal Elevations,” is a site-specific work, composed of four large, weathering, forged-steel blocks placed at equal intervals in the hillside and valley in the very heart of the Sculpture Park.

Richard Serra, 73, whose work can be found at the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, visited Meijer Gardens last fall to review the site and specifically place and orient each of the blocks in the landscape.

“The sculpture is sited so that the four blocks are set on the same contour equal distance apart in an arc so as to frame the pond,” said Serra, in a prepared statement.

Placement of the four, steel elements, and the relationship of the objects to the surrounding space, is critical to the work both physically and intellectually.

“Far more than four measurable steel blocks, the work is about our perceptions of a space that, in this specific instance, is the entire hillside,” Becherer said. “Most works of sculpture are about the measurable object or the object in space, but Serra pushes the boundaries of sculpture to help the viewer perceive the entirety of space.”

“It’s a very challenging work,” Becherer said. “Anything abstract is more challenging than figurative.”

The acquisition of “Equal Intervals, Equal Elevations” was made possible through the generosity of Fred and Lena Meijer and was facilitated through Serra’s primary gallery, Gagosian Gallery.

“It is always inspiring when an important work of art is permanently sited in a public context,” said Larry Gagosian, owner and director of Gagosian Gallery. “We have appreciated the thoughtfulness with which Meijer Gardens has approached the re-siting project and we feel that it has been a very successful experience.”